But as the committe says the buck stops at Dawns door...so she is the one who will take the blame...for the Tax Credit shambles..

This is from the daily mail.. sums it all up..

I can confirm this. Whilst at my sons a few weeks back, he received a letter telling him he was due a four figur sum in Tax Credits (he has three kids). I was stunned, to say the least when he tore it up and binned it. When I queried him about his actions, he explained he had just finished paying back an overpayment from the previous year. When I pointed out to him that he was due, at least some of it for the kids, his response "It's not worth the hassle, Dad" - proof, if it were needed, that, despite all Gordy's posturing about hard-working families, that the system is poorly thought-out and not reaching those who deserve it.

A SINGLE-MUM owed thousands of pounds by the working tax credit system has been forced out of her home.

Julie Richardson, 33, now of Acomb, York, has been waiting for her working tax credit to be calculated since September. She believes she is owed thousands of pounds, but so far has not seen a penny.

She said: "I'm having to borrow money and I've had to go into a homeless hostel as I can't afford to rent anywhere."

advertisementThe single mum said she had been renting a room, but got behind on her rent when she was on maternity leave. She had to leave her home and go into temporary council accommodation as, although she is now working again as a cleaner, she cannot get enough money together for a bond.

She says she and her seven-month old son are now living in an unsatisfactory single room. "I'm having to borrow money just so I can eat," she said.

Miss Richardson currently works 20 hours per week at the University of York, but must also pay for a child minder.

She said: "It's not just about money, it's the stress that it causes as well. It's driving me nuts.

"I've been waiting for my working tax credit for four months."

In that time she has had to send her personal details off twice - as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) claimed they never received them the first time - and has also received a home visit.

She has been sent numerous letters by HMRC, one of the latest telling her £6,688 had been paid into her bank account. She said the HMRC then took the money back out of her account.

Miss Richardson said: "I'm the one who ends ...up in debt while they work it out. I've waited just over four months to get something.

"I've had nothing but a nightmare with working tax credit. You phone up the helpline and it's not very helpful and I feel like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall. I don't think it's good enough. One person does not seem to know what the other person is doing. The whole system is a cock-up."

A spokesman for HMRC said they could not comment on individual circumstances, but Miss Richardson's case is being looked at and will be treated with urgency.

A Furious father is threatening to sue the taxman for libel and compensation after being told he owed nothing - and then being threatened with bailiffs for not paying them £6,500.Robert Bradfield said he will demand an apology and written guarantees that a two-year-long Inland Revenue gaffe won't jeopardise his credit rating after a catalogue of blunders made his life a misery.

Back in October, Mr Bradfield, from Midsomer Norton, was being plagued by the taxman. He would receive cheques for almost £300 for Working Families Tax Credit, and then a demand on the same day to pay the money back.

In the end, he stopped cashing the cheques and even sent one back ripped up - only for it to be returned to him stuck back together again, with a note saying he'd obviously sent it back "in error". The confusion came from Mr Bradfield's circumstances - sometimes he is self-employed and sometimes he is employed by others.

That change in status was too much for the bureaucrats at the Working Families Tax Credit department, who one week told him he had no children and demanded money, and the next week sent lots of cheques.

Things did eventually get better - he only received one more cheque and was called to say it should not have been sent. But on Saturday, a threatening letter came from the very same department, demanding £6,545.16 be paid immediately, or the bailiffs would be round.

It also threatened court action if he didn't pay, even though he has not cashed any of the cheques.

"Back in October it was so bad I called the tax credit people the Two Ronnies. I take it back - they are the Chuckle Brothers," he said.

"The level of incompetence is just amazing," he added.

When the threatening letter arrived it ruined his weekend. "My wife and I are very upset - she was in tears," he said.

"This has gone too far now, it is terrible and I have had enough. First of all I want an apology, and I want it in writing that I don't owe them any money. Also, I want a written guarantee that this will not affect my credit rating, my wife's or my daughter's, and I want compensation for the weeks and months of misery and worry and stress and harassment."

A spokesman for the Inland Revenue said they couldn't comment on individual cases, but a representative told Mr Bradfield he would receive a letter confirming he did not owe any money.

Case study - The Teague FamilyThe Teague family from Malvern has had problems with the tax credit system for two years.

Back in 2005 Channel 4 News reported how they'd been overpaid working tax credits and faced having to pay them back even though Caroline Teague was unable to work through sickness and her husband Duncan was unemployed.

Eventually the Inland Revenue agreed they didn't have to repay the money.

But in March this year, after Duncan started work in the hotel industry the payments of working tax credits were stopped - and replaced with child tax credits.

Citizens Advice has told the couple this is wrong and the Teagues are now embroiled in their second fight with Revenue and Customs. Their case is far from unusual